According to a report from CNET, Google Maps has photographed 10 million miles of our planet, or 98% of the inhabited world. And while it’s unlikely that anyone could ever explore all of those places in person, you can certainly do it from the comfort of your home.
Spend enough time on Google Earth, and you’ll start to notice some bizarre places and things. Or if you don’t want to spend time searching yourself, you can always just check out the Google Maps Oddities subreddit. We’ve gathered some of the most intriguing posts from this community below, so enjoy scrolling through these perplexing pics, and be sure to upvote all of your favorites!
#1 Found Uzbek Deity At 39.834520, 65.498884
Image source: SelectionCapable1478
#2 What Is This Building? It Spells Antibody
Image source: 4happin
#3 This Can’t Be Real! 55°32’40.6″S 69°15’58.1″W
Image source: [deleted]
Google Maps launched on February 8, 2005, and since then, it has completely changed the way that people get around. It was created by Australian software engineer Stephen Ma, who aimed to create a better, alternative solution to MapQuest, the current online mapping leader at the time. Thanks to Google Maps, gone were the days of printing out directions and needing a navigator in the passenger seat to tell you where to go.
With a team originally named “Where 2 Technologies,” Ma pitched an early version of his mapping program to Larry Page, one of Google’s co-founders. Google was interested, but only if they turned their desktop software into something that worked in a web browser. They managed to pull it off, and Google hired the Where 2 team in 2004.
#4 Randomly Found This Statue… Fountain, While Google Earthing In Sweden. What Is This Thing?
Image source: Icy-Temperature5476
#5 Found A Plane Crash
Image source: A_Wolf_Named_Foxxy
#6 Why Are So Many Boats Needed In Nouadhibou, Mauritania? (20.912217,-17.0383803,656)
Image source: afadums
To celebrate two decades of their famous mapping technology, Google posted an article last year featuring 20 features and hacks on Google Maps that many users aren’t aware of. First, they noted that when driving with Google Maps, users can customize their navigation icon. So if you’d like to travel in a virtual pickup truck, SUV, or racecar, go right ahead! You can also choose between eight colors for your vehicle.
The search feature on Google Maps is also much more advanced now than it used to be. Using Gemini, users can search for something such as “fun winter activities” or “interactive date nights” in their area, and Google Maps will immediately come up with suggestions. Even when you don’t know where that is, Google Maps will get you where you want to be.
#7 Weird Pngs In Street View Images Of Republic Of The Congo
Image source: Carsogh
#8 Was Just Messing Around And Found This Randomly LOL
Image source: Traditional-Rain-224
#9 34°03′17.8″ N 118°13′32.2″ W
Image source: [deleted]
Many foodies use Google Maps to decide where to go to eat. And if you want to figure out whether or not a restaurant appeals to you quickly, be sure to check out their “menu highlights.” You’ll be able to see the most popular dishes without having to search through the entire menu.
Meanwhile, if you’d like to understand a neighborhood or area at a glance, use the Lens in Maps feature. It allows users to see an augmented reality through their phone that instantly overlays helpful information about where they currently are.
#10 What Is This? Middle Of Nowhere Canada
Image source: staryoshi06
#11 Ship Crashed On An Island That Isn’t On The Map But You Can See From Satellite 20.20266171538263, -91.97673646640403
Image source: Cyannsia
#12 Street View From The Middle Of Great Bear Lake. Truly No Idea What I’m Looking At
Image source: RockYourWorld31
When you’re driving with a car full of passengers, you might be wondering if there are any HOV lanes along your route. But have no fear, Google Maps will show you exactly where they are.
Meanwhile, if you’re a passenger in the vehicle who’s bored, you can time travel with Street View. Go check out your old childhood home, your high school, or the university where you studied abroad. You can “walk around” via Street View and allow yourself to become filled with nostalgia.
#13 (51.8618427, -2.2515415)
Image source: Parking_Chair9197
#14 What Is This Building Surrounded By Monoliths? Outside Of Fillmore / Greenwood Utah
Image source: Mammoth_Mulberry_676
#15 Why Is There A Qr Code On The Ground In China?
Image source: tacobellscannon
Now, there are clearly plenty of strange sights to find on Google Maps. But if you’re curious about some of the creepiest places that you can find on Google Earth, Maptive has compiled a list of them. The first of which is The Boneyard in the state of Arizona. This is the largest storage facility for retired aircraft on the planet, housing approximately 4,000 planes from the US military and other government agencies. From above, this site in the middle of the Arizona desert looks incredibly ominous.
#16 Life
Image source: murad_the_comrade95
#17 Help Me! Someone Explain? Only Find That They Were “Found” In 2013…. And They Are Called “Geoglyph”. 5j8v+2jf, In Salah, Algeriet
Image source: Vegetable_broccoci
#18 Winnie The Pooh On South Pole?
Image source: ReadTravelBecome7
Another place you can visit via Google Maps that looks particularly fascinating is the Human Lips in Sudan. Obviously, this location is not made from real lips, but rather a natural structure that seems to have formed the shape of lips. With the right shades of sand, rocks, and trees, the image of lips appeared. What’s even more fascinating about this site is that lips have symbolic importance in Sudanese culture. Some tribes even use lip plates and lip tattoos to represent beauty, social status, and protection against misfortune.
#19 Strange (Underwater?) Structures On Chausey Islands; Coords: 48.886976, -1.799964
Image source: Ok_Cress2941
#20 Hello Kitty’s Lament, Bandung Indonesia
Image source: CertifiedShithead
#21 Checking Out The Abandon Car In AZ
Image source: maguchifujiwara
Something that you have to get close to see well on Google Maps is the scarecrow village in Nagoro, Japan. This small town is home to over 300 life-sized scarecrows, who were all created by local artist Tsukimi Ayano. Some of the scarecrows were made to resemble former residents, while others look like fictional characters. Visitors can see them acting out daily activities, such as waiting for a bus, fishing by the river, working in their gardens, and more.
#22 A Kebab Shop In The Middle Of The Ocean
Image source: A_Wolf_Named_Foxxy
#23 Scavenged Plane In Northern Mauritania
Image source: Zvne
#24 I Was In Locomotion Through Downtown Albania When I Stumbled Upon This Faceless Man That Gave Me Quite The Fright
Image source: [deleted]
Are you enjoying these peeks into random places all over the globe, pandas? Keep upvoting the photos that you find particularly fascinating, and let us know in the comments below which sites you’d like to visit in person. Then, if you’re interested in checking out another article from Bored Panda featuring oddities from Google Maps, look no further than right here!
#25 Does Anybody Have An Explanation For This?
Image source: No_Professional7604
#26 Part The Earth Didn’t Boot Up
Image source: jamieusrowlando
#27 The Mario And Luigi Car, 51.366086, -0.279144
Image source: instant__noodles
#28 What Is This Black Square In Mongolia?
Image source: baah-adams
#29 A Grey Bench With 96 Reviews In Italy
Image source: giangi0101
#30 The Time-Honored Sport Of Australian Axe Chasing
Image source: ToastedRavs4Life
#31 Anyone Know What This Is?
Image source: Few_Newt5647
#32 Found An North-Korean Waterpark? Looks Odd. 39.185830448387534, 127.40864354953058
Image source: SilverAttitude7380
#33 Two Jets In The Ocean Off The Coast Of California
Image source: plrob
#34 What’s This?
Image source: Calstar644
#35 What Do We Have Here In Uintah County, Utah (39.903824, -109.611152)
Image source: [deleted]
#36 Tiny Island In The Middle Of The Caribbean With Absolutely Nothing Except A Docked Helipad
Image source: jacker494
#37 Found This Colorful Flying Airplane On Google Maps – Anyone Seen Similar Shots?
Image source: Popular_Molasses_896
#38 Weird Base / Clearing In The Jungle In An Uninhabited Island Off The Coast Of Myanmar (11.79, 97.45)
Image source: Rurululupupru
#39 Unmarked Russian Airbase On Disputed Island Etorofu
Image source: Scorpi0n9
#40 Downed Battleship Off The Coast Of Utah Beach. Coordinates : 49.44123081337317, -1.1805022685058404
Image source: hazzaGee710
#41 Creech Air Force Base Unknown Structure 36°39’03″N 115°41’40″W
Image source: Senior-Beautiful-377
#42 Why Is There Not A Single Plane At Heathrow?
Image source: FirefighterHaunting8
#43 Strange Hole On Alaska Coast
Image source: Original_Rub5793
#44 What Is This Pipe That Runs Through An Entire City? Why Is It There?
Image source: Inevitable-Move7838
#45 I Clicked A Blue Dot And This Came Up, Any Ideas What This Room Is? Or Why The Hell It’s Apparently In The Middle Of Sentinel Island?
Image source: CJFabs17
#46 Victim Of Motorbike Accident On The Road
Image source: olddoglearnsnewtrick
#47 A Tree Branch Got Stuck On The Street View Camera In St. Louis. Visible For The Whole Block
Image source: mrezee
#48 Pooping Dog In Mongolia
Image source: Outrageous_Dig_7983
#49 Does Anyone Know What Going On Here? Found In Maryland (38°27’12.7″N 75°58’25.6″W)
Image source: Preeeeow
#50 Plane Graveyard?
Image source: eskiohto
#51 The Arabian Desert Has Reclaimed This Fort (20.3681353, 50.9259673)
Image source: ruddyscrud
#52 Strange Building In The Middle Of Very Dense Forest
Image source: Strong_Block4046
#53 Huge Building In The Middle Of A Desert?
Image source: crackred
#54 Large Grid Of Roads On The Southern Tip Of The Island Of Hawai’i (19.11619261515121, -155.76478520346947)
Image source: NotSureWhyIAsked
#55 Street View Driver Gets A McDonald’s. Tychy, Poland. Coordinates: 50.1368152, 18.9768422
Image source: strima1
#56 Odd Building In California
Image source: angelsfan33
#57 Aircraft Carrier In Suez Canal
Image source: 12zxcGreenbear
#58 A Sunk Boat? || 42.329386, 10.328868
Image source: whalebeing
#59 Weird Smoky Ring In Turkmenistan
Image source: Impossible_Train_303
#60 Weird Circle Structures At Lat 42.8669 Long -105.7217
Image source: Du_boe
#61 I’ve Been Very Puzzled About This “Hole” I Found On Google Maps A While Ago. Does Anyone Know What This Is?
Image source: One_Face_7686
#62 Looked Around In Maps, What Is This ?
Image source: Primary-Map-785
#63 Empty Dirt Roads With Hundreds Of Weird Green Mounds Anniston Army Base
Image source: CompanyImpossible796
#64 Strange Estate At Mururoa Atall
Image source: Moister_den_a_oyster
#65 Some Kind Of Reflection?
Image source: mylovelyx3horse
#66 Only “Structure” On This Whole Island, Middle Of Nowhere Rose Island
Image source: misteruseles
#67 Bread Town🍞
Image source: Masterhomeboy69
#68 Anyone Know What This Is At Jfk Airport?
Image source: [deleted]
#69 What Is This Strange Network Of Channels In A River In Northern Florida?
Image source: catmandude123
#70 Two Full Identical “Eastenders” Series Town Sets At Bbc Elstree Centre (Rotated 90 Degrees Counter Clockwise To Each Other)
Image source: Tele_Prompter
#71 Found The World’s Greatest Skatepark | (21.3455456, -157.9345423)
Image source: Ecclectic_Nerd
#72 Found This In Middle Of Nowhere In Russia. Anyone Know What This Is?
Image source: holyother_
#73 Strange Mannequins (47°35’22.2″N 6°25’07.7″E)
Image source: CaelestisSpiritus
#74 Uh Oh
Image source: TotalTikiGegenTaka
#75 Does Anyone Know What Happened Here? 50.6227836,10.6607985
Image source: gorpshitter
#76 Bizarre Concrete Structure In Kansas City, Present Since At Least 1991
Image source: NutStalk
#77 Creepy Guy Watches The Googlemaps Car From The Balcony Of An Abandoned Building 46.78534459717227, 22.125485432419538
Image source: Null_Kazuo
#78 Is This A Lake Or Man Made?
Image source: TweakedMonkey
#79 Weird Tower In The Dessert Near(Ish) To Area 51
Image source: Skudd_heatseeker
#80 Idf F-15 Over Gaza / 31°29’56″N 34°24’32″E
Image source: [deleted]
#81 What Is This Alien-Like Land Formation/Structure In Inner Mongolia, China?
Image source: [deleted]
#82 What Are These Terraces Deep In The Amazon?
Image source: ThierryJokic
#83 Main Character Syndrome
Image source: Elderflower3078
#84 Think I Found An Israeli Airstrike?
Image source: slowcanteloupe
#85 Boeing Everett Factory Photoshopped
Image source: Any-Hair1364
#86 No Way This Road Name Is What It Is
Image source: riffybeats
#87 Red Spots In FL. Keys – Anyone Know What This Is?
Image source: dumpling305
#88 What’s This Giant Red Pit Near Stade, Germany
Image source: Y33TV5
#89 Some Stone Structures In The Middle Of The Jungle In The Democratic Republic Of Congo Looking Like Ruins
Image source: Kryptonline
#90 What The Heck Is This Thing? (75.4575353, 144.7582522)
Image source: CJansen27
#91 I Was Looking On Google Earth And Then I Found This In The Netherlands
I Use Reverse Image Search But Nothing Came Up And Google Lens, Does Someone Know What It Is Or What This Represents, It Showed Up Somewhere In Between 5/2021 En 8/2023
Image source: bopsop1
#92 Black Square In Australian Outback
Image source: StarryOrganism
#93 North Korean Battleship Dock
Image source: Squelle
#94 Caught In Flight, 38°55’13.3″N 90°33’08.4″W
Image source: matneym
#95 Airplane
Image source: thijskurpershoek
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